Mistakes
by svu4life94
Summary: What happens when a one night stand produces unexpected consequences. Will it bind Abby and Stephen together or tear their relationship apart? Sorry, summary sucks a bit.
1. Chapter 1

Still recovering from the season finale and I decided to write about Abby and Stephen, since his "pep talk" to Olivia was great. Anyway, this is my first attempt to write something with multiple chapters and a plot. Reviews are appreciated so I know whether or not to continue with this story.

Georgia had just returned home after a long and tiring day at the school. All she wanted was to curl up in her fiancé's arms. They were in the last stages of the process of moving in together. She had been worried about falling for Stephen, afraid he would just hurt her in the end. But at that moment, she was sure he wouldn't. That was before she checked her voicemail.

As the message played, all she heard was a woman's heavy breathing, she was just about to delete the message when she heard Stephen's familiar voice. She listened in agony as the message played out. Stephen had clearly not meant to call her while he was having sex with the corner. But he had, and Georgia was furious. She sent Stephen a text message to come by her place whenever he could. Then she got to work. When Stephen finally made it over, all of his things were neatly placed outside of Georgia's door with a note informing him that she had changed the locks.

Abby's day hadn't been going to well either. The case they were spinning right now involved a beautiful young woman who had shot her husband after five years of his abuse. The case had just hit too close to home for Abby. She saw so much of herself in the woman. Although she had moved on from her old life with her own abusive ex-husband, the case still brought back painful memories. Memories she didn't want to deal with. Today, they had finally finished up as the woman's trial began. She had one of the best defense attorneys in the country, and Olivia was sure the woman would be acquitted. Still, Abby needed an escape, so she found herself drawn to a local bar. All she wanted was to forget.

When Abby walked into the bar, she was surprised to hear someone call her name. She turned to see a slightly intoxicated Stephen.

"Join me Abby?" he said, slightly slurring, "Misery loves company." he continued, flashing one of his signature smiles.

"Sure. Why not?" responded Abby despondently as she sat down next to him and ordered her first drink, while Stephen finished his second.

"Sooooo," Abby slurred, putting her hand on his arm, "why are you drinking yourself into oblivion tonight?"

"Georgia kicked me out," he replied sadly, "she changed the… the locks on her fucking door Abby! She didn't even tell me why!"

They had been at the bar for hours and had stopped counting how many drinks they consumed after their fifth shots. They were beyond drunk. The bartender had cut them off, so they went back to Stephen's place, where they were currently gulping down red wine on the couch. They would be lucky if they remembered any of this tomorrow.

"Well maybe it's because you cheated on her. Multiple times... And you hire hookers." Abby answered with a cheeky smirk. Her words may have been harsh, but he knew she wasn't criticizing, just being brutally honest. That was one of the things he loved about her. Loved? His head was spinning. He didn't _love_ anything about Abby. She was just a colleague. He figured that it must just be all the alcohol. Thoughts about Abby and Georgia were swirling through his mind. His objective of forgetting wasn't really working out too well.

"Maybe I'm just not good enough for normal." he said quietly, averting his eyes.

Abby felt the need to reassure him of something, anything, to alleviate even a little of his sadness. She picked up his head so he was looking directly at her and spoke.

"You are a good man Stephen. A really good man. I know you've made mistakes, but that doesn't mean you can't have that normal life. If you and Georgia are meant to be, she'll forgive you and accept you as you are. Because you are, "she sighed, "an amazing man that any woman would be lucky to have."

They weren't surprising thoughts, given her not-so-secret love for Stephen, but voicing them to him was only something she would have dared to do drunk.

And then there was silence.

"So.. um…" Abby started.

But Stephen didn't let her continue. Instead he just kissed her. Soon their hands were roaming each others' bodies. They discarded their clothing as they moved into the bedroom, leaving a trail from the couch to the bedroom door.


	2. Chapter 2

So here's chapter 2. Enjoy. Reviews are always appreciated.

The next morning, Abby woke up extremely confused with her head pounding. Why was an alarm going off? Was it really time to go to work? Where was she? Who was lying next to her?

Then she looked over and saw Stephen, and the memories of last night flooded back.

_Oh shit._

Those were the only words she could think of. Then Stephen rolled over and woke up.

"Abby?" he asked, dumbstruck. Between waking up next to Abby and his own splitting headache, he couldn't really form any coherent thoughts.

"I should go." Abby said, as she tried to simultaneously locate all of the articles of her clothing and hold up the sheet to cover her body.

"Do you really need the sheet Abby? It isn't like I didn't see it all last night." he said as he got out of bed, clearly giving no thought to modesty.

"Point taken," Abby replied, dropping the sheet reluctantly so she could more easily find and pick up her clothes. Once she had redressed herself, she quickly rushed out the door and back to her own home, where she rapidly put on clean clothes and took something for her headache. Then, she sprinted to Olivia Pope and Associates.

"Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine Abby. We were just about to get started."

Olivia began to inform her team of their new client, but Abby wasn't paying complete attention. She was too busy watching Stephen avoid her eyes.

"So, Abby and Stephen, go talk to the husband."

"Actually Liv," Stephen said, still not looking at Abby, "I think I should talk to her boss instead."

Olivia looked taken aback for a moment, but nodded.

"Okay then, Abby, Harrison, go talk to the husband."

For the next few weeks, Stephen and Abby's relationship consisted of attempting to avoid both time alone together and eye contact. When they were forced to be together, they wouldn't look at each other and limited their words to avoid talking about anything but the client. Stephen had screwed and screwed over his fair share of women, but normally he didn't have to spend every day with them. Besides, Abby was different. He cared about her, in his own weird way. But he wasn't good at "relationship stuff" which is why he just continued to ignore her. Besides, he was too focused on getting Georgia back to mend his relationship with her. Abby, on the other hand, just couldn't deal with Stephen. She was in love with him, and she knew he saw her as nothing more than a one night stand. She was hurt, plain and simple. They both figured that if they ignored the problem, eventually, it would just disappear. One day, they thought, it would be like nothing ever happened. If only they knew how wrong they were…

Abby hadn't been to work for a few days, and Olivia was worried about her friend. She knocked on Abby's door.

"Hey Olivia." Abby said somberly as she opened the door.

Olivia was shocked to see Abby's eyes were red from crying as she gulped down a bottle of water.

"Can I come in?" Olivia asked

Abby merely stepped aside to allow Olivia in.

"What's wrong Abby?"

"I'm pregnant Liv." she said after a lengthy silence, her voice barely rising above a whisper.

"Are you sure?" Olivia asked, concerned.

Abby gestured to the left with her head, where Olivia noted a positive pregnancy test on the counter.

"I'm working on a second test now," Abby replied drearily, referencing to her gigantic bottle of water.

"Are you okay Abby?"

Abby paused before answering. After a few deep breaths, she answered.

"I'm scared Liv. So scared."


	3. Chapter 3

Just to let you all know, I really don't have any knowledge of pregnancy or anything remotely medical. So if any of what I write is inaccurate, I apologize. Also, this is not my best chapter. Sort of a transition chapter. Anyway, read and review, even if you have horrible things to say.

* * *

Anyone else Olivia knew would have cried. But not Abby. Abby stood stoically as the second test showed a plus sign. Abby didn't cry in front of other people, not even Olivia. But that didn't mean she wasn't breaking inside. So for a while Olivia just hugged her friend and told her that she would get through this. Olivia didn't make promises she couldn't keep, so she normally didn't tell people they were going to be fine. But Abby was strong, and Olivia knew she would make it through. The next day, Olivia took Abby to a doctor to confirm the pregnancy and make sure Abby was healthy.

* * *

"You are in fact about four weeks pregnant." the doctor confirmed.

Abby just sat there, stone-faced.

"And is everything okay with Abby and the baby?" Olivia asked.

The doctor looked up, only then noticing that Olivia had walked into the room.

"Yes. Ms. Whelan and the fetus are healthy. Ms…"

"Pope." Olivia said smiling, offering her hand, "I'm one of Abby's friends."

"It's a pleasure." the doctor replied.

"Now, Ms. Whelan, I'm assuming you are in fact keeping this baby."

She thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Is the baby's father going to be involved?"

"Why does that matter?" Abby snapped irately.

"Only to see his medical records and determine if there are any genetic abnormalities that I should be watching for." the doctor replied as gently as possible. She recognized she had struck a nerve.

"Probably not." she answered despondently.

"Okay. That's perfectly fine. I want you to come back and see me next month."

"Thank you very much." Olivia said as she and Abby exited the room.

* * *

They made Abby's next appointment and began to walk out to Olivia's car quietly.

"Do you need me to help track him down for you?" Olivia said, breaking the silence.

"Who?" Abby asked, momentarily forgetting the situation at hand.

"The baby's father. Because we could do it discretely. No one else would kn-"

"No. I know exactly where he is." Abby interrupted.

Another silence ensued.

"Do you really think he won't be involved?" Olivia asked, concerned with her friend's lack of emotion. "Because don't forget, you have options. You can sue for child support or.."

But what Olivia was really doing, beyond her concern, was dancing around the one question she really wanted the answer to. Abby had stopped listening and started debating whether or not she should tell her friend who the baby's father really was.

"It's Stephen Liv. Stephen." she yelled, cutting short Olivia's monologue.

For once in Abby's life, she saw Olivia Pope speechless. Finally, after an extensive pause, Olivia began to speak:

"It's Stephen Abby. You know he won't leave you alone with this."

"Yeah. I know it's Stephen. The same Stephen that finally got his ex to agree to dinner so they could _talk about their relationship_. I'm not going to screw it all up for him now."

"Abby. He's an adult. He'll take responsibility."

" We were both drunk. It was a mistake. He wasn't planning on being tied to me for the rest of his life."

"Abby. Look at me." Abby looked up. "Tell him. He has the right to know. He may surprise you."

Abby wasn't sure if she believed it. But Olivia was right. He had the right to know.

* * *

Abby took a few deep breaths then knocked on the door. After Olivia had dropped her off at home, she came straight here. Stephen opened the door and it took all of her willpower not to turn back. She took one last breath before speaking.

"I'm pregnant."


	4. Chapter 4

So I decided to update this, even though I doubt anyone reads it. I'll probably scrap this story after this short chapter, but this was already written, and I actually like this one more than my other story since I know where this is going more than the other one. But whatever. I'm done going on. I'm going to DC this weekend, so maybe I'll get inspired or something. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated, especially since without them I'll probably forget about this story. Yeah. My memory sucks that badly. Anyway, I digress. Enjoy.

* * *

Stephen mouth kept moving, willing himself to form words. He had to come up with something, anything to say.

"Are you… are you sure it's mine?" he finally managed to choke out.

"Do you really think I'd be here if it wasn't? You want a paternity test to make sure?" she said sardonically.

"No…no… I just…"

"I'm not asking anything from you. I'm not asking for money or for you to be involved. Just say the word and you can go back to your pretty little life with pretty little Georgia. I'll never tell anyone it's yours. I'm only here because you have the right to know."

"Do you really think that badly of me?" he said, sounding genuinely wounded.

"What?" she asked, emotion finally pervading her voice. She had expected to tell him the news and for him to tell her thanks but no thanks and to shut the door in her face.

"There's no way I would ever abandon you or_ our_ child. Don't you know that Abby?" he said earnestly.

Abby didn't need to answer, she just melted into his arms. They fit together so naturally.

* * *

Although it seemed like smooth sailing that moment, the reality was a lot more complicated. They were still two very different people. Which meant they still argued and mocked each other. The first argument was minutes after she came to his door. After they disentangled, she walking inside, Stephen still reeling from the bomb Abby had just dropped on his life. The first thing he did was call Georgia and cancel dinner. As much as Abby assured him that he didn't need to stop his pursuit of his former fiance (though she secretly hoped he would), Stephen was determined to do everything right. Then, he made Abby an offer she couldn't help but refuse. He asked her to marry him. For the sake of their baby.

"Are you fucking me Stephen? No."

As much as she desired Stephen's ultimate commitment to her, she wanted it to be out of love. Not some medieval, "chivalrous" notion of obligation that he thought he had to her and the child. Then came the question of what they would do when the child was born. But they didn't even broach that topic yet. It would just lead to another fight. They could figure that out later. Right now, they just sat, wrapped up in each others' arms, hoping for their future together.


	5. Chapter 5

So… new chapter. For once, I don't have much to rant about. I wasn't really sure what to do with this story, since I know how it ends, but not how it gets there. Hopefully, this chapter pushes the story in a satisfactory direction. When I first came up with this story, I always had this image of Abby coming up with really obscure names, don't know why. Just feel like it's her personality. Reviews are always welcomed.

* * *

Abby hadn't told anyone else about the pregnancy. Other than Olivia, she didn't have many friends she trusted, and she had barely spoken to her family since her divorce. However, between her newfound proclivity for loose clothing and Stephen's hands' constant presence on the small of her back or her stomach, it didn't take long for their coworkers to deduce the situation. But despite their knowledge, no one dared to say anything. Abby was not someone you wanted to piss off.

* * *

Even though things seemed fine now, she wondered how she-the liberal feminist- and he- the traditional alpha male- could possibly raise a sane child. Sometimes she thought their differences would be too much to overcome. Could the precocious playboy and the aggressive workaholic possibly parent together?

On some days it seemed more impossible than others. For instance, one day, Abby started to feel woozy after too many days working without a break. Suddenly, Stephen was suggesting she work less and stay home more. This made Abby furious. Who was he to tell her what she could and couldn't do? She had noticed that Olivia was putting Quinn and Harrison on the more dangerous investigations over her, but she had begrudgingly accepted that. But Stephen suggesting she give up her work, even for a few months, aggravated her beyond belief. Maybe it was the hormones or maybe her own sense of independence, but after that she wouldn't talk to him for days. He learned then to be a little more subtle in his suggestions.

There were, however, some concerns Stephen would not give up. He had made sure Olivia kept Abby away from dictators, suspected killers, and anyone remotely attracted to her. There was nothing he could do about Abby's willingness to risk her neck, but he wouldn't allow his child to be in those situations. He knew his possessiveness was irritating Abby, but he was surprisingly overjoyed at the prospect of being a father, and he wasn't about to jeopardize that. He, Stephen Finch, was actually excited to settle down. With Abby of all people. He knew she wanted to be independent, but a small, mostly silent, part of him was really falling for Abby. That small part of him was finally seeing her differently. But the rest of him mostly ignored that part. He highly doubted he and Abby could ever work out. However, he wondered if this child might give them a reason to try.

* * *

"Atticus Finch. Really Abby. You would really want to name our son after a character from a book?"

"First of all," Abby replied fervently, "it would be Atticus Whelan-Finch. Secondly, I like the name Atticus. I didn't plan on getting knocked up by someone with your last name. Although _To Kill A Mockingbird _is one of my favorite books," she continued, getting off topic, "Besides, it's after the Greek philosopher, not the character. You wouldn't have wanted me to suggest Socrates or Plato instead, would you?"

"Of course not," Stephen muttered, rolling his eyes. He and Abby had been discussing baby names for the past hour, and they clearly had _very _different ideas about how to name a child. While Stephen had suggested the kind of names that would appear on the list of most common baby names, Abby came up with some of the most _unique_ names he had ever heard. Thus far, she had suggested names of historical figures, literary heroes, and an occasional famous musician. She had clearly given it a lot of thought, as many little girls once had. It was clear they weren't going to come to a consensus on boys' names. Since they didn't know the baby's sex, they decided to move on to girls' names. As if that would be any easier.

It came as no shock to him that her first suggestion was Cleopatra. He threw back Emily, which he had learned was her grandmother's name, hoping to show her the merits of a more conventional name. She just looked at him disdainfully. She clearly wanted something distinctive, unlike her own name, while Stephen wanted something normal. Maybe they were even more hopeless together than he originally thought.


	6. Chapter 6

So I just saw that Henry Ian Cusick isn't coming back for the second season of Scandal and I'm about to cry. Um, so, yeah. That sucks. But it did inspire me to write about Stephen, along with some of the family history I made up for him, since we won't learn any of it next season. Enjoy! Reviews appreciated. Expect trouble in paradise soon.

* * *

"I look disgusting."

"You don't look disgusting, you look beautiful Abby." Stephen responded, kissing her on the cheek.

Abby was still scrutinizing herself in the full length mirror, twisting and turning to find every flaw with her four and one half months pregnant body.

"Maybe we shouldn't go." She continued as though she hadn't heard him speak.

Stephen and Abby were having dinner with Stephen's family, who were in town to visit him, and Olivia. He could tell Abby was nervous. He was a little nervous too. He wanted his family to see everything he loved about Abby. He decided to invite Olivia along, since there was no one his parents and brothers loved more than Liv.

"We're going. You're carrying our child. What could make you more gorgeous?"

He saw Abby about to answer, although she was still scrutinizing herself in the mirror, so he continued.

"Abby, turn around."

She complied and he kissed her lips lightly.

"Get away from the mirror. You're always stunning and always will be." he finished sweetly.

* * *

He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when the shift from squabbling disasters to their almost-relationship occurred. Just a month earlier, they had been at each others' throats about everyone from baby names to his history of sexual indiscretions. But now, all he wanted was Abby. They didn't officially acknowledge any form of a relationship, and Stephen knew that he was free to stray if he desired. But for once, he didn't want to. Well, he mostly didn't. But all thoughts of prostitutes and trashy, barely-legal girls aside, he could only stare at Abby getting ready and ponder how this twist of fate could have made him so happy.

* * *

As it turned out, Stephen's family got along quite well with Abby. He could see his oldest brother Michael in particular kept giving him the "she's too good for you" look. Although he could feel his mother's disapproval at the idea of having a child out of wedlock, she seemed to adore Abby more than anyone else in his family. Even his younger brother Sean's frequent attempts to flirt with Liv didn't dampen his spirits. (Sometimes the fact that both Sean and Samuel were exactly like him bothered him immensely.) Overall, the dinner had been a success. Abby didn't really talk to her family, and they didn't even know that she was pregnant. That, he decided, would be his first goal after the baby was born: to find Abby's family. Right now, he was too concentrated on their baby kicking for the first time. It was almost too good to be true.


	7. Chapter 7

Still upset over the lack of Stephen next season, especially after re-watching season 1 and his audition. But whatever. I've been struggling to get this chapter moving, but now that my other story is done, I think I should be able to focus on finishing this one up soon. I think I've managed to stall long enough, so there will probably only be two or three chapters after this short one. Enjoy. Reviews make my day.

* * *

She hated the way she looked pregnant. Everything about her body became bloated and bigger. Except her bladder. She wasn't really understanding the joys of pregnancy that other women talked about. But for her, it was at least preferable to the alternative of the actual child. While Stephen may have been growing more sure of impending parenthood, Abby was doubting her decision to have the child. She didn't think she was ready to put someone other than herself first. But then she saw Stephen. She saw his love and his happiness and thought that maybe, just maybe, things would work out. And then there were moments, like when the baby kicked, that she really believed they would be a happy family.

* * *

Meeting Stephen's family was something she had been dreading for the past few months. She knew his family's approval meant a lot to him, and she also knew that they had really liked Georgia. But once she started talking to them, she felt at ease. She didn't really talk to her parents, and she never had siblings or extended family. She never understood the closeness some people felt with their families. But sitting here with Stephen's parents and brothers, joking and laughing, she was starting to understand. Stephen's beaming smile only made the moment sweeter.

* * *

Sometimes, she worried that Stephen didn't really love her. She was afraid that he was confusing love for the baby for loving her. Not that they actually admitted love to each other. After all this time of her not-so-secretly loving him, she had a hard time believing he could fall for her. But, despite her skepticism, he had managed to stick by her so far, and seemed not to have any intention of leaving. She been especially worried, one time when they saw Georgia. Abby was visibly pregnant, and Stephen's arm was around her. Georgia gave her a death glare. She probably thought Stephen cheated on her with Abby. Abby just shot back her own nasty glace before Stephen looked up. She saw a flash of regret on Stephen's face when he saw his former fiancé, but he assured her that his only regret was hurting Georgia. Not that it made Abby feel any better. She was almost paranoid about Stephen's wandering eye. Every time she saw his eyes scan over a trashy girl shooting him a "fuck me" glace, it was all she could do not to give into her hormone-driven anger and claw the girl's eyes out. Luckily, Olivia was always there to pacify her.

"He loves you Abby. He's changed."

And sometimes, she believed it. But other times, she wasn't so sure.


	8. Chapter 8

I have a very limited knowledge of Obstetrics, so I apologize for any errors. I there will be one more chapter and maybe an epilogue, if I get reviews on this chapter and the next one. In case anyone cares, this is actually where the story originally started, so the second paragraph has been sitting on my computer for a few weeks now. I almost changed this multiple times, but I decided to stick with the not so happy ending that was the basis of this story.

* * *

Something had felt "off" for the past few days. Abby couldn't explain what exactly it was, but something just felt off. She was five and a half months pregnant, and she and Stephen were heading to a doctor's appointment right after they wrapped up everything with their client. Things between Abby and Stephen had only been improving. She was all but living at his place. He was considering a second attempt at asking her to marry him before the baby was born. This time with a ring. And at this point, he felt confident that she would say yes. They both felt that things were finally falling into place for them. Unfortunately, their dreams of a happy ending were about to be shattered.

* * *

The ultrasound tech had suddenly grown quiet. While seconds earlier, she had been chatting, as she normally did, she suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Stephen asked.

"I…I need to get the doctor. I'll be back in a moment."

Abby and Stephen looked at each other with concern. A few moments later, the doctor came into the room, whispering with the tech. After a few minutes, the doctor looked up sorrowfully and gave Abby and Stephen devastating news.

"I'm sorry, but the baby no longer has a heartbeat."

Abby and Stephen remained silent, slowly processing what the doctor had said. Stephen began to speak first, holding back tears.

"Do you… know why?"

"We can do tests, but in most of the cases we can't really determine the cause. But it isn't your fault, either of you."

Stephen moved to touch Abby, but she pulled away. The doctor began to explain what would happen next. After she was done, Stephen went to call Olivia. Abby remained stoic, waiting for labor to be induced.

* * *

"Stephen." Olivia said solemnly, running toward her friend as fast as her 5 inch heels let her. She immediately noticed that he was crying. For a while, she just hugged him while he cried. Despite how he seemed now, Olivia knew how fragile Stephen once was. She saw him through his breakdown, and had always feared that something might weaken him again. She may not have seen him cry in a long time, but it still broke her heart to think about it. Seeing it again only confirmed the tragedy of her two friends' situation. For the first time in her life, Olivia didn't have the solution. This is was a fact that scared both her and Stephen.

"How's Abby?"

"I don't know Liv. They're inducing labor, and she should be out of the hospital in a few days. She didn't say a word."

"I'm sorry Stephen. I really am."


	9. Chapter 9

Last chapter. Let me know if you think I should do an epilogue or not. As a warning, I did not edit this, so there may be mistakes or things phrased weirdly.

* * *

Two days later, Abby was ready to leave the hospital. Olivia and Stephen had come to pick her up.

"How are you Abby?" Stephen asked, reaching toward her. She again pulled away.

"I'm fine. They're letting me leave after all." she answered, dismissively.

"Abby, don't feel like you have to come back to work at any time. Take all of the time you need." Olivia told her. Stephen had already been taking the past few days off, talking to his family and grieving. She told him the same thing she told Abby.

"I'm fine Olivia. The doctor is letting me leave. I'm more than fine to go back to work. I've already missed two days."

Olivia wanted to argue, tell her that she needed time to process her loss. But Abby was not one to be convinced of things. Besides, Olivia reasoned, everyone grieves differently.

"If that's what you want."

Abby got up and walked out the door, leaving Olivia and Stephen to follow.

* * *

Stephen made multiple attempts to talk to Abby, but she brushed him off every time. He eventually gave up, and they drove to Abby's home in silence. Stephen looked even more despondent than usual, so Olivia decided to stay with him for a little while. Stephen opened a bottle of wine and they both began to drink. While at first they managed to avoid talking about it, eventually the subject of Abby came up.

"I just don't understand how she can't care! It was our child. And she just didn't even flinch. She just wants to go on, life as usual. How Liv, how?"

"Look, Stephen, I know it seems like Abby's being cold, but it's hard for her to deal with things like this. She keeps a lot bottled up. I'm sure she's just as upset about losing the baby-"

"Amelia. Her name would have been Amelia. The shrinks say that it's a good idea to refer to a stillborn by name."

"Okay, Amelia. I'm sure Abby's taking it just as hard. She not only had to deal with the emotional loss but the physical one too. You have to cut her a little slack. You can't be mad at her. You two need to help each other through this."

"So you're saying you think I should go see her?"

"I think that you should talk to her when you're ready."

* * *

Stephen had decided that now, rather than later, was the best time to see Abby. So he had Olivia drop him off and he knocked on her door.

"What do you want Stephen?"

"I want us to talk. I want to get through this together."

"If you're looking for company, why don't you call one of your hookers?" she snapped back, still blocking him from entering.

"Just let me in Abby. Let's just talk."

She wordlessly crossed her arms and walked into her house, leaving him to follow.

"Abby," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him, "I've already lost her. I can't lose you too."

Abby never cried in front of other people. Never. But seeing Stephen's pure emotion, combined with the feelings she had been suppressing for the past two days, she couldn't help but let a tear slip out. It was only a single tear, but it was a start. She sat down on the couch and motioned for Stephen to sit next to her. And they began to talk, his arms around her, and they talked for the rest of the night. By the morning, she felt hopeful. It would be hard, but she and Stephen would heal together. Together they would make it through.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_


	10. Epilogue

Alright, so this is it. A little cheesy, but… Anyway, thanks to anyone who read this story. Enjoy:

_One year later_

Abby's eyes fluttered open.

_What time was it?_

She looked over at the clock and registered the two ones followed by a three and a zero.

"Good morning Abby."

She looked up and saw Stephen with a book in the chair near her bed. She just smiled as she got up to take a shower. It had been inconceivable to her that she would wake up every morning and see Stephen. But it seemed like a year ago he came through her door and just never left. At first, two months later, he had a tooth brush in her bathroom. By five months, he had managed to take up a drawer without her noticing. By eight months, he took up half of her closet. Just last week, she finally gave her permission for him to change his mailing address to hers.

Not that it had been all smooth sailing since they lost the baby. They had been to therapy- a lot of it. It was a struggle to work through their issues. Letting go had been hard. But then again, as their therapist pointed out, they weren't ready to care for a child. They didn't know how to be together alone, let alone as parents.

She was still paranoid about him cheating, which is why they hadn't officially moved in together. True, he had made strides. Slowly but surely, he had staked out his presence in her home. He swore that he didn't cheat. But they were both jealous and possessive people. Which led to a lot of fighting. But here they were, still together, despite it all. It wasn't perfect, but they were both willing to put in the effort to make it work. Yes, trust was an issue, but Abby was learning to trust Stephen.

She stepped into the shower and continued to think of the progression of the last year. When she had opened the door one year ago, she thought they would be forever broken, destined to be apart. But now they had a functional relationship: a first for both. She barely had time to turn on the water before she heard Stephen's footsteps approaching. He wrapped his arms around her and before putting his lips to a different use, whispered in her ear:

"I love you."


End file.
